Magnetometer

Specifications

• Use a Hall effect sensor for repeatable measurements.
• Include at least two-digits display, preferably with floating point.
• Use a breadboard so it can be modified.
• Provide a steady reference voltage to the sensor so that output is accurate.

Components

Honeywell SS49E analog position sensor

Solderless breadboard

PICAXE 08M2

This is an extremely small, inexpensive micro-controller with a 10-bit ADC with the ability to set voltage reference to the power supply, 1.024V, 2.048, or 4.096V.

The PICAXE also requires two pulldown resistors on its serial programming pin.

2-digit, 7-segment LED display with decimal point

Power supply

We can use three AAA or AA cells which would provide 3.6V to 5.1V, or one lithium 3.7V cell. Or, we can use a 9V battery with a voltage regulator. Or a 3V to 5V wall adapter would work, although reduce portability in measuring fields in multiple locations.

Program

Watching a magnet go around and around

Digitize the voltage output from the Hall sensor with an ADC converter. Many micro-controllers include an ADC with enough resolution for pedagogical purposes, usually 10-12 bits. If the output of the Hall sensor output the full range of the ADC, then we'd have at least 1 in 1000 precision (2^10 is 1024). But usually the output will be only about half of that range, so for 10 bits we'd have a precision of 1 in 500.

Displaying the digits on a shared-pin LED display

Since the two digits share the same cathode-pins, we can only show one at a time. We flip back and forth so quickly, about five thousand times a second, that it's imperceivable. The value of each digit is stored in a byte of memory, actually not the value [0-9] but the combination of bits to make the right LEDs on the display light up. For example, '8' requires all seven bits, while '7' requires just the first three.

Datasheets

Honeywell SS49/SS19 Series Analog Position Sensors (Hall effect sensors).

See also

Hall Effect Sensing and Application by Honeywell.